08/11/2026
🗣️It’s Talking Tip Tuesday…Getting Ready for Back to School: Let’s Talk About It! 🍎
As we get closer to a new school year, children may have big feelings and lots of questions about what going back to school will look, sound, and feel like.
As parents, we can help by talking about the transition before the first day — not just telling our children what will happen, but giving them opportunities to communicate how they feel about it.
✨Try Talking About…
What Will Happen? “First we will get dressed, then we at breakfast, then go to school.”
What might you see?
“You might see your teacher, friends, your classroom, and lots of backpacks.”
What might you hear?
“You may hear the school bell, lots of talking, or a loud cafeteria.”
How might you feel?
You might feel excited, nervous, happy, worried, or a little bit of everything!”
What questions does your child have?
Give them time to ask questions — or help them communicate questions if they need support.
❤️ For children who are non-speaking or limited verbally, try:
📸Pictures: Look at pictures of their school, classroom, teacher, bus, or playground
🧩Visual Schedules: Show the sequence of what will happen during the morning.
💬AAC: Model words/phrases such as school, teacher, friend, happy, worried, like, don’t like, stop, help, break, bathroom, all done.
🌱Most importantly… Don’t worry about having the perfect conversation. Your child may communicate through words, gestures, facial expressions, behavior, AAC, pictures, or play. Our job isn’t to make sure our children feel only excited about school. It’s to let them know:
💛Whatever you’re feeling, I’m here to listen, help you communicate, and support you.
⭐️A little preparation + lots of opportunities to communicate can make a big transition feel a little more predictable.
